"I'm not really sure how it all went down," singer and guitar player Nat Johnson said. "But I'm happy it did. New people are discovering our music."

Discovering it just as there's new music to discover, too. Rather than follow up "Posters Fade" with another full-length, however, Derby's opted for a four-song EP, "Madeline." The reasoning is simple.

"We came up with this batch of songs that felt good and natural to us," Johnson said. "Raw, and full of energy. Rather than over thinking it and creating an album around this sound, we just went with it."

Why risk diluting the vibe by writing to fit a larger idea? There's nothing wrong with a good short story.

They also changed the way they recorded. They were enamored with these songs when they were playing them in the basement. Derby's previous two records were self-recorded in homemade studios, an approach that prevented recording live as a group.

And they're really good live.

"We recorded at Secret Society studios," Johnson said. "It's such a beautiful space and we just went in and played rock and roll for a couple of days."

It's possible they'll get the bug for a full-length next, but more likely, Johnson said, is they'll chase whatever sound they're digging and do an EP or two or three.

"We're happy with it," he said. "It was creatively freeing. If we wanted to do a different type of music, we didn't have to worry how it would fit into this puzzle."